"I have never ranched for the money; it pays more grit than dollars. It is more for the feeling of a rain after a year-long drought, standing in the mud where the pasture was, laughing so loud and hard they could hear me in town. More for the pride of saving a newborn calf's life that even the vet said would not suckle. More for the huge knot that ties in my stomach when walking up to the seller's window at an auction barn. The knowing that the barbed wire scars will fade,

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"We cannot be sure of having something to live for unless we are willing to die for it." -Che Guavera

"Whatever you do, do it with all your heart, as you are working for the Lord and not for man." -Colossians 3:23

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Thursday, May 13, 2010

For Everything There is a Season

"For everything there is a season,

and a time for every purpose under heaven."

Ecclesiastes 3:1

The past week has been a good one for me... My parents came to Oklahoma to visit me from Maryland and see what my "new life" is all about. I think they've really enjoyed their time here and I know I have certainly enjoyed their company!

Last Saturday we went to Fort Worth, a town I am becoming ever increasingly fond of every time I go there, to go to the Fronteir Fort Days. It was amazing and I think my dad enjoyed seeing the old stockyards. We went to Oklahoma City yesterday to the Oklahoma National Stockyards - the world's largest feeder calf market - and then to the National Softball Hall of Fame.

As many of you know, softball used to be my life. My biggest goal was to play Division I softball... and after I found the team that I loved, I shortly had the game taken from me. I tore my ACL twice before my sophomore season and was unable to play anymore. Softball is still a ghost I face everyday of my life, even though it has been nearly two years since I have last played. The Oklahoma City field is a place that every young girl that has a deep passion for the game dreams of playing - including me. I would be lying to say I didn't have a lump in my throat the entire time we were there yesterday, but it's also something I am so grateful I got to see...

I am a strong believer that everything happens for a reason. While it is still a hard thing to swallow, I know that perhaps God used softball as a way to get me where He needed me to be. If I had not had the gift of softball, I would not have gone to the school I chose to play. I would never had been given the opportunities that I had in college at any other school, and I know that I wouldn't be here if it weren't for those opportunities. And if I had it all to do over again, I would want to end up right where I am... Right here.

Sometimes it's so hard to remember all of our blessings when we have to face what we've lost. But sometimes we have to face what we've lost so we can more clearly see what all we've been blessed with...

1 comment:

Thank you for writing this piece. I often think back to what I could have had and wonder if I made the right choice. As painful as it is to watch such a huge part of your life wash away, it is exciting to think of what the rest of your life has in store. After all, the memories will never go away but will forever continue to shape the people we are to become.